Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1469874
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 JUNE 2022 NEWS Brussels to verify high radioactivity levels in Malta-Sicily pipeline route Sicilian regional authorities call for re-routing of Malta-Sicily gas pipeline fearing environmental degradation of past industrial activity and concentrations of radioactive elements JAMES DEBONO THE European Commission will be contacting the Italian author- ities to see whether a 'verifica- tion' is required with regards to the high levels of radioactivity in the seabed around Gela, where the EU-funded gas pipeline link- ing Italy to Malta is planned. In March 2022, the managing authority of the Biviere Nature Reserve in Gela alerted the Italian Ministry for Ecological Transition, on behalf of the Sicily Region administration, about the environmental threat posed by the pipeline. The document recommend- ed alternative routes, in view of the large number of impacts and high environmental costs, claiming that the route of the EU-funded gas pipeline was de- termined on the basis of solely economic criteria. Indeed, the proposed pipeline will not only pass through Natura 2000 sites and a bird and biodiversity ar- ea but will pass from the gulf of Gela, an area which already registers worrying levels of pol- lution, owing to concentrations of radioactive uranium 238 and thorium 234. The 63-page report, endorsed by the Sicilian regional gov- ernment and sent to the Ital- ian government, refers to data from sampling stations near Gela showing concentrations of depleted radioactive com- pounds in the sea around Gela. The concentration of the two radioactive elements which naturally occur on land, in the waters opposite the coast, sug- gests it was dispersed in the sea from landfills, making the site one of the "most problematic" in Italy. The report calls for the re-routing of the Malta-Sicily gas pipeline as this would add up to the environmental deg- radation of past industrial ac- tivity. The issue was raised in a question to the Commission by Green MEP Ignazio Corrao, who asked whether the Com- mission will verify the pres- ence and determine the origin of uranium and thorium in the waters around Gela. The Green MEP also asked the Commis- sion, which is the custodian of treaties – including those pro- tecting biodiversity – for its assessment of the pipeline pro- ject in terms of EU law. According to the EU's Hab- itats Directive, any plan or project that is likely to have a significant impact on a Natu- ra 2000 site must be subject to an assessment of its impacts in view of the site's conservation objectives. But projects can still be ap- proved because of imperative reasons of overriding public in- terests but member states have to provide a justification. In its written reply, the Com- mission is still not in possession of all the information about the project and cannot assess its compliance with EC law and its possible environmental im- pacts. It also claimed that it has no previous information about "the alleged radiological con- tamination of the seabed on this area". The Commission hinted that it falls upon the member states to ensure compliance with the directives. "Without prejudice to the Commission's powers as guardian of the Treaties, the primary responsibility for im- plementing EC law lies with the Member States' authorities, in- cluding in relation to correctly assessing projects' possible im- pacts on Natura 2000 sites." Noting that Italy has trans- posed the EU directives pro- tecting Natura 2000 sites in its national legislation "it is also responsible for monitor- ing radioactivity in the marine environment of its territorial waters". Nonetheless the Commission "will be contacting the Italian competent authority in order to assess the need for a Com- mission verification." The verification can be re- quested in terms of article 35 of the Euratom Treaty. Article 35 of the Euratom Treaty requires that each Member State shall establish facilities necessary to carry out continuous monitoring of the levels of radioactivity in air, water and soil and to ensure compliance with the basic safe- ty standards. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Italian MEP Ignazio Corrao (Greens) The gas pipeline route from Malta to Gela, Sicily The article forms part of a con- tent series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. These articles re- flect only the authors' views. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information these articles contain.